


A Collection of One-Shots

by shutupmulder



Category: Mission: Impossible (Movies)
Genre: Both sad and happy, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Short one-shots of our favorite agents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-11 10:12:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15970217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shutupmulder/pseuds/shutupmulder
Summary: A collection of one-shots where we get to follow Ilsa and Ethan in different situations.





	1. The storm

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by this gif: sensuous.tumblr.com/post/178003451939

 

Dark clouds gathered over Manilla. The thunder roared through the sky, the trees were swaying from the force of the wind and the rain was lashing against the window of the hotel room. 

Not that the agents noticed. 

Silence filled the small room they shared together during the mission. The only thing that could be heard was the storm outside and the shower running in the bathroom.

The tiny bathroom had a surprisingly big shower. The walls were grey tile and matched with the floor. The ceiling spotlights were on the lowest setting and the darkness of the room fit perfectly with the agents state of mind. 

They were standing under the stream of the shower, the almost too hot water flowing down their hair, necks, backs and legs before it disappeared down the drain. 

Both of Ilsa’s hands were wrapped around Ethan’s muscular frame, hands lightly holding on to his naked back. Her head rested gently in the crook of his neck as his hand stroked her hair slowly, the other hand on her lower back. 

Time seemed to be frozen. They could have been in the same position for hours, they couldn’t tell. The only thing that mattered was the comfort they could give to each other. 

Eventually, the water ran cold. Both agents sighed at the change of temperature and Ethan removed his hand on her back to turn the water off. 

They stood in silence for a few more moments before Ilsa disentangled herself from her partner, stepping out of the shower. She grabbed the towels, handing one over to Ethan and wrapping the other one around her own body.

Ethan looked at the woman he loved. What he could read from her face, her body language and from the fact that he almost always knew what she was thinking, he felt what could only be described as failure. The feelings matched his own perfectly. 

He watched as she combed through her wet curls with the hair brush. When she finished she turned towards him. They shared a quiet moment together, eyes saying more than words.

”I think I’m gonna shave.” He said and she nodded, eyes silently saying thank you.

He knew she needed a moment alone. He also knew he was in desperate need of shaving, even if it was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment. But since she needed to be by herself, he simply watched as she walked out of the bathroom. The fact that she didn’t close the door behind her was a good sign. Still, things were far from good.

_ How did we get here?  _ He thought sadly as he took his razor out of his bag of toiletries. 

 

—

 

Clean-shaven and with a towel around his middle, he walked out of the bathroom. He noticed her sitting by the small armchair by the window, her eyes focused on the storm outside. He put on a pair of boxers and a grey t-shirt. 

Slowly he walked over to her, laying his hand on her shoulder. She was wearing a pair of pyjamas shorts and one of his t-shirts. She didn’t react to his touch, merely kept looking forward, lost in thought. 

”Are you hungry?” He asked. 

She shook her head. 

Ethan stood behind her, watching the storm for a moment too. Outside he could see branches from the trees lying in the middle of the street. The rain was still pouring and the sewers on the streets were getting overflowed as he saw cars driving through almost a decimeter of water. 

He could feel the tiredness creeping up on him, the past three days had given them little sleep, and Ethan suppressed a yawn. 

”Do you want to talk about it?” He asked.

It took her a few moments to speak up, as if she was contemplating her answer. 

”What is there to talk about?” She said in a small voice. ”The fact that he slipped out of our grasp again? That he killed the person we were there to protect? That we didn’t take him so now he can continue with human trafficking and murdering innocent people? Children?” She said through clenched teeth, her voice getting louder with each sentence. 

Ethan closed his eyes for a moment. 

”It’s not your fault, Ilsa. We had no idea Porter and his men would even be there. We were expecting at maximum three people, not ten, and certainly not Porter and his men. We were outnumbered.” He walked around the chair, kneeling in front of her, laying his hand on top of her thigh and searching for her eyes. The color of her blue eyes almost matched the stormy clouds. 

She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.

”You’re right.” She said, opening her eyes, laying her hand gently on top of his. ”That doesn’t stop me from cursing at the fact that we saw him again and couldn’t take him down. And that we failed our mission.” 

”I know. I feel the same, love.” He answered honestly and she didn’t know if it was the tone of his voice or the endearment, perhaps a combination, but she felt a little warmer inside. She also realised how exhausted she was. 

”I’m so tired, Ethan.” She said. 

”Then let’s go to bed.” He answered, getting up on his feet, reaching out his hand for her to grasp. 

Once on the double bed, her back soon nestled against his chest. His hand circled around her middle and both agents closed their eyes. They relished in the warmth and comfort of each other and let the dark events wash away with what would hopefully be a dreamless sleep. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like it! More chapters will come.


	2. Not today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan gets badly injured during a mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter today, already!  
> Hope you like it.

”No!” Ilsa shouted as she heard a gunshot and watched Ethan fall to the ground about 20 meters away from her. 

”Ethan’s down.” She said into the earpiece. 

”What?! Is he okay?” Benji said, panic in his voice evident. 

”I don’t know. He’s on the ground, but there’s a shooter so I can’t get to him. Hold on.”

Ilsa scanned the area to the west where the shot came from. She saw a few branches rustle next to a tree and fired four shots in the direction. She heard a groan and the sound of a body falling to the ground. 

She quickly but carefully moved towards the shooter, making sure he was dead before she ran to Ethan.

Ethan’s eyes were closed, but Ilsa found a pulse. The bottom half of his shirt was already covered in blood. ”Shit.” She mumbled, ripping open the buttons on his shirt. The bullet had missed the bulletproof vest by only a few centimeters. She quickly pressed down hard on the wound, making Ethan moan lowly in his sleep.

”It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay, Ethan.” The words were meant to reassure him but it sounded more like she was trying to reassure herself. 

”The bullet hit him low in the stomach, missed the vest and there’s no exit wound. He’s losing a lot of blood. We have to abort the mission.” She said as she took off her thin jacket and quickly tied it hard around his stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. 

”Shit, okay, hold on.” Benji said.

Ethan coughed and slowly opened his eyes. 

”Hey.” She said gently, one hand caressing his face. ”Hey, it’s okay, look at me.” She smiled gently at his confused look. 

”You’ve been shot. And we need to move, can you walk with me?” He nodded slowly at her words. 

”Okay, Ilsa. Change of plans. We’ll make up another extraction point, one that is closer to you, okay? Then Benji will meet up with you on foot.” Luther said in the earpiece. 

”Copy that. But do I still go north?” She said as she groaned from the effort of lifting Ethan up, pulling his right arm around her neck, holding it firmly in place as they started walking slowly. 

”You.. you’re moving?” Luther asked and watched the screen, seeing both Ilsa and Ethan’s positions moving slowly. 

”Yes. Tell me when we have to change direction.” Ilsa said. 

Benji and Luther shared a quick look. “Yes, of course.” Luther answered. 

They had barely walked for a minute when Ethan collapsed and Ilsa carefully laid him down on his back. ”Ethan?” She said, touching his cheek. He was a little colder than usual and he was completely out of it now. ”Fuck.” She let out louder than intended.

She groaned as she used all her strength to pull him up on her back, steadying herself on her feet before she resumed the walk towards the new extraction point. 

Benji and Luther drove as fast as they could on the small road. “Ilsa, you need to turn more east.” Luther said, looking at the screen. 

“Copy that.” She said, out of breath, changing her direction slightly east. “This good?” 

“Yeah, that’s good. How are things going?” Luther said.

“He’s heavier than he looks.” Ilsa said in a strained voice and Luther and Benji could hear the worry still evident in her voice, but they smiled slightly at her words and her strength.

“You’re almost at the road now, Ilsa. Keep going. We’ll be there in less than four minutes.” 

“Roger that.” she said, stopping for a moment. She bent forward further to get all of Ethan’s weight on her back and put two fingers to the pulse on his neck. She could feel a beating, even if was slow. She took a deep breath and started walking again. 

Their timing was impeccable. Just as Benji stopped the car they could see Ilsa coming out of the woods with Ethan on her back.

”Jesus.” Benji said, jumping out of the car to assist her. He helped put Ethan down and they each wrapped one of his arms around their necks, in order to carry him the rest of the way to the car. 

Once inside the van, they put Ethan down on the floor and Luther drove as fast as he could towards the closest hospital.

Blood was covering the front of Ethan’s shirt and down his arms. He also had blood on his face, but since it had the form of a handprint Benji assumed it must be from Ilsa’s hand. 

Ilsa and Benji worked silently together, removing the jacket Ilsa had tied around Ethan’s middle, cleaning the wound as best as they could and put a bandage around his middle. Benji put pressure on the wound as Ilsa stroked Ethan’s face gently. He was still far too cold for Ilsa’s liking. 

“How far is it, Luther?” Benji asked.

“15 minutes until we’re there.” Luther answered.

Benji finally decided to take a look at Ilsa. He had barely paid attention to her since she came out of the woods, his focus purely on the injured Ethan.

The first thing he noticed was that she was covered in blood. Ethan’s blood. All over her back, neck, her hands and even on her face. Her lips were pressed together in a thin line, her eyes focused on Ethan’s face and her jaw clenched tightly in worry. He also noticed that one sleeve of her shirt was ripped apart, and he could see a deep gash, blood seeping out and staining her long sleeved shirt.

“You okay, Ilsa?” Benji asked lowly, worried about his friend.

“I’m fine.” She said, not looking up at him.

“You’re bleeding.” Benji said. 

“I said, I’m fine.” She almost snapped, her eyes still focused on Ethan. Benji sat in silence, looking at her. He was not going to let it go.

Ilsa took a deep breath. 

“I’m scared, Benji.” She said in a small voice. “Yes, I have a small wound on my arm, but it’s fine.” She finally turned to face Benji, only to find him watching her with worry in his eyes. She sighed and reached for the unused bandage, wincing slightly as she wrapped it around the wound on her arm. “Better?” She asked and he gave her a small smile.

“He’s going to be alright, Ilsa.” Benji said. “Somehow he always is.” 

Ilsa nodded slightly, moving to stroke Ethan’s hair. 

“I mean, he has to be.” Benji continued.”I need to tell him you made a joke about his body size when he was shot.” 

“Fuck you, Benji.” Ilsa said, but she smiled slightly at him for trying to lighten the mood.

“I love you too, Ilsa.” Benji answered and the two friends shared a small smile before looking down at the man they both cared deeply for, hoping that he would be alright. 

  
  


\--

 

After several blood transfusions and being operated on, Ethan was sleeping in a room at the hospital. Ilsa, Benji and Luther hadn’t left the hospital but waited eagerly for news that he would be alright. It had been close, the doctors had said. Ethan had lost a lot of blood but he would make it. 

A few days later Ethan was awake and Ilsa, Benji and Luther all sat in chairs around his hospital bed. Ilsa sat closest, holding Ethan’s hand in her own. 

“By the way, Ethan, as Ilsa carried you she made a joke about your size.” At Ethan’s look of horror, Benji quickly groaned. “Good god, no.  _ No _ .  _ Body _ size, your height.” 

Ilsa and Luther were laughing at Benji’s babbling and Ethan’s look. “Okay, it was a poor choice of words. But that’s not the point.” Benji said, looking at Luther, silently asking him for help. 

“It’s true. She did make a joke about it when she carried you.” Luther said smiling, backing up Benji’s comment. 

Ilsa shook her head at their words. “If anything, it was complimenting his strength rather than degrading his height or size.” Ilsa said innocently, doing her best not to smile, leaving Benji and Luther cackling by now. Ethan smiled, shaking his head slowly. 

“ _ Complimenting his strength?”  _ Benji said, barely keeping it together. “Ilsa, I’m so glad we met just so I can hear your brilliant answers.” 

“That’s the only reason?” She said, raising an eyebrow. 

“Not the only one. You’re a pretty good cook as well.” He winked at her and she rolled her eyes.

“Thanks, Benji. I’m glad that’s all I am to you. A person who puts food on your table.” She smiled and turned her head back to look at Ethan. 

“You guys need to stop joking. I feel like my lip is bleeding because I’m biting down on it so hard to keep from laughing.” Ethan said making them all chuckle. 

“Sorry.” Ilsa said and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. 

“Aww, aren’t you cute?” Benji said. “Also, just one more thing. Now that you actually carried him all that way, I have a really good reason to get to call you Wonder Woman, right?” Benji smirked as Ilsa groaned and closed her eyes at his comment. 

“I’m glad everything’s back to normal.” Luther said. “Benji and Ilsa fighting as usual.” 

“And Ethan’s in a hospital bed. I’m having serious déjà vu about this, guys.” Benji added, making Luther and Ilsa laugh.

“On a serious note, though, you have to stop this Ethan. You had us way too worried this time.” Benji said. 

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help getting shot. It’s not like I do it on purpose.” Ethan stated, raising his eyebrow.

“Just.. be a bit more careful, is what he’s trying to say.” Luther said, agreeing. 

“I agree.” Ilsa said. 

“Hold on, you don’t get to say much in this, Ilsa. You’re getting injured almost as much as him.” Benji exclaimed.

“Fine. We’ll both be more careful. Okay?” She said, looking at Ethan.

“Yeah. Sounds good to me.” Ethan agreed, and they all hoped for fewer injuries in future missions to come.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some trouble with this one, so thank you so much ilsafausts for being the best beta reader. Oh, and her fics are amazing.  
> By the way, as you can probably tell from this chapter, I just really love Ilsa & Benji's friendship. 
> 
> Also, I just have to mention, I actually started writing this story because I got this image in my mind of Ilsa carrying Ethan. She’s just so badass.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, please tell me what you think!


	3. You've got a friend in me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The evolution of Benji's friendship with Ilsa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little different, it is from Benji's point of view. It is focused on Benji/Ilsa friendship but obviously, there is Ilsa/Ethan in there too..  
> I hope you like it!

The atmosphere on the private plane was a little bit more tense than usual. Benji wasn’t his normal babbling self,  instead,  he was focused on the screen, pretending to be deep in thought about their upcoming mission. He inwardly groaned at himself for being nervous because usually, he wasn’t nervous on missions anymore. 

But this time it was different. For some time now , it had only been Benji, Ethan and Luther  going on missions together. Now the unstoppable, kickass Ilsa Faust would join them. 

Ilsa had only been with the IMF for less than a month. She and Ethan had actually done two missions together alone, where Benji and Luther weren’t needed, but now they were all going  together .

He was excited, actually glad to have another person on the team. But the truth  was , he  was still a bit terrified of her. She could be very intimidating and had the ability to silence you with  a single look.

However, after Kashmir things changed. Ilsa  had saved his life. The days after they had captured Lane, he also got to talk to her a little. She was reserved, but not cold like he had thought of her before and he actually found himself enjoying her company.

That didn’t change the fact that it was a different thing going on a mission together for the first time, not including Kashmir when they weren’t really a team yet. 

“You okay, Benji?” Ethan asked, in the seat in front of him. Ilsa was next to him, looking at Benji too.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Benji answered quickly, giving Ethan a reassuring look. 

Ethan nodded and let it go, turning to discuss something with Ilsa.

Luther, sitting next to Benji, chuckled lowly so only Benji could hear.

“Get yourself together, man.” Luther said, smiling, and Benji was glad Ilsa and Ethan were too busy in their discussion  to hear Luther. 

“Shut up.” Benji said under his breath . He put down the computer and closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep. 

 

-

 

The mission went well. Benji was mostly glad about the fact that he  hadn’t made a fool of himself on the first mission together with their new team member. He was also seriously impressed with her. Benji knew she was a very skilled agent, but he had not really seen her in action before. He had been busy getting strangled by a rope when she  had fought Lane. 

They were back on the plane, heading towards Europe for another mission. They had all been briefed on the new mission and gotten some sleep. Now the four agents ate some food together and chatted.

“Okay. Out with it, Benji.” Ilsa said suddenly after she had taken her last bite of food, putting her fork down. 

“What?” He said, trying to compose himself after her direct words towards him.

“Even if wasn’t for the fact that you’ve been staring at me since we got on the plane, I can tell there’s something you want to say.” She raised her eyebrow slightly, but a small smile rested on her lips and the smile made him relax a little. 

Luther suppressed a chuckle and Ethan looked between Ilsa and Benji, his curiosity piqued . 

“Well..” he coughed. “That thing you did. Jumping up on a man and just.. whipping  him down with your legs. How the hell do you do that?” He asked, his tone impressed. 

“You sound like Ethan.” Ilsa smirked, looking at Ethan next to her who just grinned.

“Well, it is very impressive.” Ethan answered honestly, having witnessed it more than once. 

“Wait, what did I miss?” Luther asked, confused. 

“When we were fighting four of Anton’s men she just climbed on top of one of them, making him fall. It was crazy.  And then she did it again to another poor bloke .” 

Ethan’s head was turned towards Ilsa and Benji could swear he heard him say “Show-off” to her. Ilsa’s eye-roll was proof that he heard right. 

Luther simply looked between the agents, still a bit confused about the conversation but he nodded slightly.

“You need to see it to understand, Luther. But yeah, I just wanted to say.. it was really cool.” Benji  finished a bit awkwardly, looking down at his empty plate. 

“Thank you, Benji.  That’s...nice to know. ” The humour in her tone was obvious, and he looked up to see  her shoot a friendly smile in his direction .

“Okay.” Ethan said, smiling  as well. “Now that that is out of the way.. Who is in for a card game?” 

“ A card game? Seriously?” She asked incredulously, looking at Benji’s and Luther’s excited faces. 

“Dead serious. This is a very important part of our missions.” Benji answered, standing up to get everyone’s plates.

“It’s true.” Luther added, giving her a look. 

“Okay.. so what are we playing?” She asked. 

“Poker.” Ethan said, smiling as he got up to get the deck of cards. 

“Interesting.” Ilsa answered with a raise of her eyebrow as both Ethan and Benji came back. 

“I know you’re obviously skilled in just about everything, but I don’t know if you’re a talented poker player.” Ethan said, challenging.   
“Oh honey, you’re about to find out.” Ilsa said smirking, and the team laughed. 

The atmosphere on the rest of the flight was much more comfortable than it had been when they flew from the headquarters a few days ago. While Benji was still a bit intimidated by Ilsa,  and he suspected he would be for quite some time, he did feel more relaxed now. He also suspected there was barely any man, or woman, on the planet that wasn’t slightly intimidated by Ilsa,  since even Ethan wasn’t his usual self around her. 

But here she was, playing cards, joking and laughing with the rest of them. Benji had a very good feeling about the future of the team. He just wished Ilsa  wasn’t such a skilled poker player since he was probably gonna get his ass kicked for the  foreseeable future .

 

\--

 

A few missions later Luther had  finally witnessed Ilsa’s impressive move himself. 

It was late in the evening and Benji, Luther, Ethan and Ilsa all sat around the dining table in one of IMF’s safe houses, discussing their next mission. 

“Okay. I understand now why Benji was so impressed with that thing you do with your legs, Ilsa.” Luther said after they had finished the debriefing.

“Yes, thank you, Luther!” Benji added quickly.

“It is quite something, I agree.” Ethan said, and Ilsa was trying her hardest not to be embarrassed or blush at their comments. 

“We should give it a name.” Benji said and the rest of the team groaned at his comment. 

“No, Benji.” Ilsa pleaded. “I am flattered by all your comments, but please no.” 

Benji smiled. “Okay, but..” He waited a few seconds, and the rest of the team could see that words were just waiting to burst out of his mouth. 

“Oh no, here we go.” Luther muttered.

  
“ _ Killer thigh move _ .” The excitement in his voice was evident. 

Luther and Ethan couldn’t suppress their laughs now, and Ilsa gave them a displeased look. 

“Okay, I’m sorry. I’m done now.” Benji smiled apologetically at Ilsa.

“Me too. I’m so done.” Ilsa said drily. “I actually think I’m going to get some sleep. Good night, guys.” Ilsa gave Benji one last look of disapproval before she walked towards her room and the look would have been very intimidating if it hadn’t been for the fact that she couldn’t hide her own smile. 

“Good night, Ilsa.” The team said in unison.

  
  


\-- Circa a year later --

  
  


Benji sat with Luther and Ethan in the corner of the bar, all of them drinking beer. Ilsa had just come back from a mission with Jane and they were waiting for her to come join them for the evening, both to eat and drink  something . Of course, Ethan had already met her at home  earlier , but Ilsa had to go back to the headquarters for some final paperwork and they decided to meet at the team’s favorite bar. 

The mission had not gone according to plan, which was why Jane and Ilsa had been away for three and a half weeks, way longer than it was supposed to be and longer than any of them wanted  it to be. 

It was not often that the IMF would use an agent from another team, but occasionally it happened, even if none of them really liked it. Benji hated it when he heard that Ilsa would go on a mission without them, but he was glad when he heard that Jane was with her. The two women got along very well and if it  weren’t for the fact that Jane had her own team now, Jane would probably have been on their team. Apparently, for this mission, only two women were needed, which was why Jane couldn’t  bring her own team. Benji did not even want to think about the reason why only women were needed  for this mission . He knew enough about what many of  the bad guys they encountered thought about women, to know what this mission probably was about. 

“Heeey! There’s my favorite badass person in this world.” Benji got up from the chair to hug Ilsa as she approached the table, while Ethan made a face, looking hurt, making Luther laugh. 

“Careful.” Ilsa  warned him quietly  as they put their arms around each other and Benji hugged her gently, not knowing where she was hurt.

“Before you ask, you might want to say something to Ethan, it looks like he’s a little hurt by your comment, Benji.” Ilsa smiled at her dear friend and at the warm welcome she had  received , making Benji turn around. “Sorry, Ethan.  _ One _ of my favorites.” Making the rest of the team laugh and Luther embraced Ilsa carefully as well. 

“I’ll take the chair, so you can sit next to Ethan.” Luther motioned for her to sit on the rounded couch. “Now, I know you two haven’t seen each  other for almost a month, but try to act just a little bit civilized, okay?” Benji laughed at his words as Ilsa swatted his shoulder playfully before moving to sit next to Ethan, wincing slightly as she sat down, and gave Ethan a quick kiss on the lips. “We’ll try our best.” Ilsa smiled.

“God, I'm starving.” Ilsa let out, just as her stomach growled and the noise could be heard over the music  filtering out of the speakers, and they all laughed.

They quickly ordered their food, the guys another beer and Ilsa ordered sparkling water. “I’m on painkillers.” She muttered at Benji and Luther’s questioning glances.

“Well, it’s good to have you back, Ilsa.” Benji said after the waitress had left.

“It’s good to be back. Very good to be back.” Ilsa shook her head slightly, as if thinking about the past weeks. 

“Are you okay, though?” Ilsa felt all eyes on her at Benji’s words. 

“Yeah. The mission was a mess from start to finish, but I’m fine and so is Jane. Just a few bumps and bruises.” Ilsa reassured them and Ethan raised his eyebrow a little at her. “Okay, my ribs hurt like hell. But thank God, they  are only bruised and not broken.” 

Benji and Luther nodded and smiled at her gently. 

“So, what have you guys been up to without me?” Ilsa smiled. 

“You know, the usual. A couple of missions. Nothing too serious, though, which has been nice for a change.” Benji said. 

“Nice?” Luther said. “You can’t tell me you have enjoyed these past few weeks.” He gave a pointed look towards Ethan. 

“Oh. No, it hasn’t been nice. Ethan here has been.. what’s the word for it? Moping.” At Ethan’s  affronted face, Luther and Ilsa couldn’t hold back  their laughter. However, Ilsa immediately groaned after starting to laugh, holding her ribs. 

“I did  _ not _ mope.” Ethan said, defensively, but turned his eyes to check how Ilsa was doing and she put a hand on his knee, silently telling him she  was fine. 

“Uh, yes you did.” Benji insisted, nodding his head. 

Benji was happy that his two best friends were happy and in love. He really was. However, there were two problems. The first one  was that when they  were together they  could be a little too..  _ touchy _ sometimes. Acting like love-sick teenagers, despite their age. That  was not the worst part, however. On more than one occasion, Benji and Luther  had walked in on them, seeing them in a position that no one  wanted to see their best friends in. And it  wasn’t just in the bedroom that Benji  had walked in on them,  which bothered him the most. He could bear with it, though, since they were happy and deserved happiness. 

The second problem was worse than the first one. The problem was when Ethan and Ilsa were _not_ together. Most of the time it was Ilsa who was sent away on a mission without the team so Benji and Luther had to deal with Ethan when Ilsa wasn’t there. The truth was, Ethan really was moping when Ilsa was on another mission. He just wasn’t the usual happy and carefree Ethan, but instead, he became more serious and tense. 

Benji definitely  preferred the first problem. 

“It’s a little cute, though.” Ilsa put her hand on Ethan’s cheek. “Are you worried about me, love?” She smiled gently at him and their eyes met. 

“Yes. Always.” 

“You know, I can take care of myself, Ethan.” She raised her eyebrow. 

“I know. I just.. I prefer to be the one watching your back.” His hand gently stroked a strand of hair away from her face, his eyes gentle. 

“I prefer that too.” She leaned in and kissed him gently. 

At the exact same moment, the waitress came carrying their drinks.

“Thank God.” Benji muttered at the timing, diverting his eyes from his love-sick friends kissing next to him, and Luther nodded in agreement, smiling at the waitress in relief.

“It is better than the moping, though.” Luther said, smiling and nodding  his thanks as he was given his drink.  A moment later, Ethan and Ilsa finally parted. 

“I do not mope.” Ethan repeated. “However, I agree, this is  much better.” He put his hand on Ilsa’s thigh, smiling along with the rest of the team. 

Just a little more than a year ago, Benji had been scared of the woman in front of him. Now, as she was laughing at a joke Luther had made, he could not help but think about what a fool he had been. It had not taken her long to become a part of their IMF family, as Benji referred to them all sometimes. Not only was he glad that she had become a big part of Ethan’s life, making him happier than ever, but she had become a big part of his own life as well. Benji smiled and enjoyed the night out with his best friends. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know.. I just really love Benji and the team.  
> Huge thank you to the best beta reader, ilsaafausts.


End file.
